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in a place before time
The great Sun God, Nika, came into being in a bundle of flames. He was a child born laughing, with pink cheeks and a shrieking giggle that shone with joy. He came into existence one day without any knowledge of the world he was born into, with no family to his name and nobody by his side, but somehow still teeming with glee.
In the beginning, there was only the Sun. Nika roamed the sky in a blazing ball of fire and heat, alone. Many years passed, and as more things began to appear, he watched the tiny creatures start to roam the new Earth below him. There were only small animals then, croaking and crawling over the Earth. He found them amusing, entertaining even, and created heat waves with his laughter as he observed them. Most of them, however, stayed in the big blue mass he later began to call the ocean. The ocean was wonderful, though it did nothing; it sat, still and unmoving, unless one of the creatures poked its head out and created small ripples in the otherwise flat water. Nika loved when the ripples appeared, for the ocean stopped being so flat and seemed almost playful. Of course, the ocean grew boring, too, and he began to gaze upon the Earth.
For centuries he blazed like this in the sky, laughing at the trees that grew and the ocean that always sat unmoving. Still, he was alone. He didn't realize what being alone was at first. Not until the humans showed up.
Nika laid amongst the clouds, his white hair pillowed on the sunrise, and observed them. For many years he watched them grow and change. They were so very odd, he surmised; they walked on two feet as he did, and spoke and laughed as he did, but they interacted in a way that was unpredictable to him. Sometimes they smiled at each other, and sometimes they screamed. Sometimes they embraced, and sometimes they fought. He couldn’t imagine what it meant to connect with another being in any of those ways.
How lonely he grew. As the days passed, he began to look away from them, unable to handle the knowledge that the humans were not alone as he. He wished for many days that he could speak to them. He wanted to laugh at their jokes, sit at their table. He watched a mother rock her crying child once, and another time, watched two brothers fight only to embrace at the end. He watched a man and a woman kiss for the first time, and longed to know what had driven them to do so. He ached, sitting there, in his blazing ball of fire, and wondered if the touch of another being would be so welcoming.
Nearly three months after Nika first began to shun the humans, he slept for the first time. He’d never needed to before, but found himself tired, sad, lonely. His eyes drifted shut, and for a few hours, the Sun was gone.
And then he opened his eyes. The world was blue and black and purple. It was so very different from his world.
Only a moment after he opened his eyes, the sun began to rise and the darkness disappeared into a new day. He wondered what it was that he saw, the vast, dark expanse of the sky, littered with specks of white and orange. Then, for only one moment, he was able to see it; something disappearing over the horizon as day broke. It was large, circular, and a bright white, fading into the sunrise now. He did not know what it was, but he knew what to call it— the Moon.
From the moment he laid eyes on the crystal blue of the night sky and the shocking white of the stars, even if only for a few seconds each morning, Nika was enraptured— He had never known what it meant to love until he set eyes upon the Moon for the first time.
The days passed in much of the same fashion. Nika grew tired regularly now, and every time he closed his eyes to sleep, he woke to the dark sky. He wished that it would stay for longer so he could observe it, too, but as the Sun, he always chased it away with his light.
One day, he saw the Moon again, as it fell down, and saw it twinkle for only a moment, larger now than it had been in the past few days. A thought struck him— it twinkled in a way that almost seemed like a hello.
He wondered, as the nights went on, if the Moon was a being such as he. If he himself was the Sun, and he lived and breathed, was the Moon a being capable of life, too? Was the Moon someone?
Would he now stop being alone?
Nika tried for many days to meet the Moon, or even catch a glimpse of them. He began to burn for longer, hoping that eventually the Moon might meet him in the sky. He created the first summer doing so; the days were longer, hotter, and the nights shorter, warmer. But still, Nika never met the being that claimed the night. It seemed as though he drove the Moon away every morning and just missed it every night.
For six months this time passed, as Nika grew more and more fond of this Moon, who shone a white as bright as his own hair, who glimmered like the glint of his own eyes.
Nika realized after some time that the moon had begun to grow closer as the weeks went by. As time went on, he could see it more and more clearly for longer periods before he drove it away. It was coming closer. He wondered, desperately, if this would be his time— if he continued to grow closer, would they be able to meet in the middle? Finally, would his voice be used to speak to something other than himself?
It happened for the first time on a random day in the morning. Nika woke to the Moon being close, far too close to be normal, and was almost shocked by its size and beauty. He saw only now that it had spots along its surface, little dark patches that gave it more depth. How wonderful this was to him.
And the Moon grew closer— finally, he was not pushing it away! With excitement teeming through every inch of him, Nika jumped into the sky and howled with laughter. How beautiful the Moon was up close! He craned his neck to find the being that he’d been searching for all these months. Would they be kind? Small, large? Would they have a soft voice, or a pair of shining eyes?
He continued to search, and the Moon grew closer, closer. So close. He could almost touch it, now, and the sky began to close up; the Moon approached him, just in front of him, and the clouds disappeared. The sky turned gray. The sunlight became dim, covered up by the other being. Any moment now.
With a deft hand, Nika reached out—
“You are the Sun.”
Nika jumped, shock running through him. The voice, somewhere behind him, was deep and rough. It was beautiful.
Nika turned around, desperate to find it. And then he saw the Moon. A man, it seemed, who was tall and lean, with dark sigils running over his arms and hands and chest, dark hair and dark eyes, his fingers thin and twitchy, narrow eyes. He had spots of coloration along one side of his neck that just reached onto the side of his face and some on his arm, a bit poking out from the bottom of his pants where his bare feet stood.
“You still have your spots,” Nika said in awe. “How wonderful.”
The Moon scowled. “An astute observation. Your hair is darker than I imagined it to be.”
Nika paused in shock. He reached up and tugged on a lock of hair, surprised to find it laying flat instead of flowing loosely on the sky. From the bit he could see by pulling it over his eye, it was nearly black. He gasped.
“How is it this dark?!” He asked. “It has been white for centuries!”
The Moon frowned. “I see. I’ve dimmed your light.”
Nika looked up. Why did he sound negative about that? His hair was different now, but not any worse. It was simply something new. Exciting. Nika laughed, boisterous and gleeful. The Moon frowned deeper.
“What?” The Moon asked.
“Ah, nothing— just that you have done the opposite!” Nika exclaimed.
“The opposite?”
Nika smiled. Softer, he said, “Yes. I have been waiting for years to meet you, Moon God. You have simply brought a new type of light to me.”
The Moon scowled then, clearly unhappy about Nika’s claim. “All I do is take light. I take it from the day, I take it from the humans, and now I have taken it from you.”
Nika laughed again, shaking his head. “You may be different than I, but you bring them much comfort.”
“But you bring them life.”
Nika cocked his head. “Sure I do, but see, they need you, too. They do not survive without sleep, and you give them that, which I cannot. My light only keeps them awake.”
The Moon argued, “But I could not give them what you do. They need the nutrients your light provides. And they are capable of sleep in the sun— What I do is only a coincidence.”
Nika grinned. “Well, then don’t you suppose we are better as a team?”
The Moon looked at him carefully. His head tilted, and the soft wisps of his hair blew in the clouds.
“In a way,” the Moon replied eventually, begrudgingly. He took a breath, and seemed gentler when he asked, “What is your name, Sun God?”
His name? Nika had always known that he was to be called Nika, and had come into existence knowing only that fact. But his existence had been lonely, so terribly lonely, as Nika the God— and it was not like that any longer.
No, he was not Nika. Not anymore. He was unsure what his new name would be, but as soon as he spoke, he knew it was true—
“Luffy. I’m Luffy.”
The Moon looked down, and his lips twitched into a smile so softly it was barely present at all.
The Moon replied, “I am Law.”
—
in the Mountain Village
“And then they fell in love?” The little girl asks, stars in her eyes.
Her mother laughs. “Not immediately, no. It’s said that the Sun often bothered the Moon, whenever they were able to meet. The Sun would talk for the entire hour, sometimes, and other times, ask the Moon so many questions that the hour was over in just a blink. The Moon did not enjoy his presence in the very beginning.”
She smiles at the thought of the laughing Sun God circling around the Moon in a show of interest, curiosity. She continues, “But, as time went on, the Moon grew fond of the Sun’s incessant joy. It was something the Moon had never known before. The Moon simply did not know how to laugh before the Sun taught him.”
“Wow!”
”Mhm. He continued to grow more and more fond of the Sun, but kept it to himself for fear of stealing the Sun’s joy. But then, one year, nearly a half century later, the Moon revealed his true feelings to the Sun. He was entirely in love with the other God.”
The girl exclaims, “A half century?!”
“Indeed. And the Sun simply listened to his confession, and told him that he had been in love with the Moon since the day it was created. It was a passionate love and the dearest devotion born of it. To this day, almost everything the Moon does is in tribute to the Sun.”
“How? If they can’t meet often, how can the Moon do anything for the Sun?”
The woman hums, and responds, “Well, legend says that the Moon learned to form the tides and created the ocean’s waves, just because the Sun loves to watch them sway. It says that the Moon gladly took the role of giving the humans their time to sleep, because the Sun loves to see the humans live so dearly. They say the Moon is a devoted lover and a sacrificial being, and falls each and every night happily so that the Sun may rise and give us the joy of a new day.”
“Oh…the Moon is kind,” the little girl says. Above them, the sunlight twinkles a bit brighter, and a gentle breeze picks up to cool them down. “I can’t wait to see the eclipse!”
“Oh, dear,” the woman replies with a frown, “I’m afraid we can’t actually watch the eclipse.”
“Why not?!”
“Well, it’s very painful for our eyes. The combination is too bright. The eclipse is a very private moment between the Gods, so they have taken our ability to see them for the one hour each year so they may reunite without humans watching.”
The girl frowns. “I guess that’s fair. We do look at them all the time.”
They smile together, and continue their day. As the sunset approaches, their village prepares its annual bonfire, a giant feast with the few hundred people that inhabit it. Together, they will circle around a great fire, with food to warm their bellies, and listen again to the tale of their beloved Sun and Moon told by the elders of the village. By the next morning, the eclipse will happen, one hour where their Gods may meet. For that briefest time, the people will live under a gray sky, keeping their eyes downturned for the respect of their Gods.
The little girl watches the moon rise later that night, after the great bonfire, and her eyes twinkle like the stars. How beautiful the two Gods’ love must be.
—
in the night sky
Law spends most of his nights sitting idly and watching the humans sleep. He is a solitary creature, sitting for hours without saying a word, blinking only when he remembers to. Most of his hours pass hanging amongst the stars but unable to reach them. Sometimes, when he grows tired of it, he spends hours upon hours pushing and pulling the ocean.
Luffy might watch the ocean in the morning when he wakes. Law hums to himself with a small smile as he continues.
Tomorrow will mark the 500th year since the first eclipse. He gnaws at his lip, excited but nervous at the same time. He considers himself eternally lucky to have a lover like Luffy, who will love him despite how they are separated. Luffy could very much have fallen for the Ocean, or the Earth, whom he sees each and every day, and still— still, Luffy waits 364 days every time to see Law, to hold Law, for only one hour.
For this year above all else Law has spent extra time forging a gift for his beloved, as 500 years is no easy feat by any means. He spent so long coming up with a gift idea that he almost didn’t have time to make it, but he had done that rather often.
All of those years ago, the 100th year, he had gifted Luffy the tides. That was only shortly after Law had confessed his love to the Sun. To Law’s surprise, Luffy had felt the same way since before they’d even met.
“Silly Moon,” Luffy whispered, hands cupping Law’s face softly. “I have loved you since the day you were created. I knew in the moment I saw you that my life would never have to be alone again, not with you in it.”
Law looked down at the smaller God, who leaned into him like it was the easiest thing in the world. And perhaps it was, because Law had never felt so at ease in his entire existence. Luffy’s eyes shone even as they changed to brown during the eclipse, and before Law could stop himself, he was pulling Luffy in by the small of his back and bringing their lips together. It was perhaps the most human Law had ever felt.
By the time 100 rolled around after that, Law had created the tides. Luffy told him once that his favorite thing to do was watch animals create ripples on the Ocean surface. Over the years, various other Gods had begun to appear, and soon the Ocean manifested one, as more and more humans began to worship it. Law had reached down to the new Ocean God that night, a slim man with golden hair, and together created waves that Law could push and pull to his needs. When he saw Luffy again, he presented them to him, and Luffy had been so overjoyed he’d kissed Law for the entire hour, declaring between them that he would watch them every single day.
In the years following, Law learned that Luffy was not just someone who laughed, but someone who embodied joy. His love and his happiness burned like fire, and Law happily became its holder. Law learned that Luffy expressed his joy through action, be it jumping or running— but he was most enthused when he was able to touch Law. The Sun God would often cup Law’s face and tap his fingers along the defined bones, or follow the lines of Law’s eyebrows with his fingertips. He would twirl Law’s hair, hold Law’s hands, tuck his fluffy dark locks under Law’s chin and rest his lips on Law’s collar. For someone who had never been touched, Law was startled by the actions, but quickly learned that he enjoyed them far too much. In the space between eclipses, the nights spent alone and watching the stars, Law would yearn for Luffy to appear and wrap his arms around him.
For the 200th year, Law gifted Luffy the moon cycle. He feared that Luffy would grow bored of his appearance one day, being that he only ever stood fully illuminated. Thus, he’d come up with a cycle that would change the moon’s appearance routinely, and would even stay in accordance with the tides he’d created. Law began to wear a densely feathered, heavy black coat, and when he rested upon the moon, it would cover the light where he laid and create a crescent shape. When Luffy awoke each morning, he would then be able to see the last bits of the Moon from the night, and it would be different from the last night, and Luffy could then watch the cycle 12 times before they could see each other again.
That year, Luffy had crawled into Law’s lap and laid burning kisses like the Sun over all of Law’s spots, and told Law how excited he was to see all of the different forms he could take, rubbing his face over the soft coat. Luffy had drawn Law into long kisses and pressed him into his skin, his teeth into whatever it could reach, had made Law’s heart thump and crash and his hands burn. That year had made them sweaty and tired and after the hour, Law had held Luffy in his arms, and he could feel their hearts thumping in tandem. Luffy had been half asleep, and Law began to doze off too, happy to hold him for the last few minutes they had. He watched Luffy go with a different ache in his heart, after having held his beloved so intimately, and he vowed to find a gift that would show his love every century they were together.
The years continued to pass after that, and most of them were spent talking, holding. Law would often let Luffy sit in his lap and poke at his face, tracing the lines of his colored spots with his fingers. Luffy would pull at the scruff on Law’s chin and kiss his dark undereyes, twirl the locks of hair on the side of Law’s face. Luffy would spend one of their entire hours tracing his fingers over the black sigils tattooed on Law’s skin, the great heart across his chest, and Law would tell him that it belongs to him.
One year, Luffy had been laying with his head on Law’s chest, listening to his heart, and asked, “Do you ever grow bored alone at night?”
Law hummed, his hand buried in Luffy’s soft hair. “Sometimes. I just move the tides when I am. Passes the time.”
“I wish you could watch the humans as I do. Or the animals,” Luffy said, muffled because his face was squished into Law’s skin. “I take them all during the day.”
“I don’t mind,” Law responded. He readjusted his large feathered coat to better cover them both. “I will happily let you have the humans and the animals.”
Luffy hummed. When he laid like this, his dark hair almost disappeared into the black feathers of Law’s coat. But his big eyes sparkled, blinking up at his even in the gray eclipse hour.
Luffy said slowly, “Torao.”
It’s a nickname Luffy himself came up with after he’d learned Law’s full title of Trafalgar. Law would listen to it over Trafalgar any day.
“Yes, my love?”
“You give me wonderful gifts,” Luffy said. “And I’m sure you have more planned. But, I wanted to ask…”
Law ran a thumb over his cheek. “Hm?”
“Would you make this century’s gift something for yourself?”
Law drew his eyebrows together. “Myself?”
“Yes,” Luffy said happily, a giggle climbing from his throat. He could never stop smiling. “I want you to come up with something that will keep you from being bored at night.”
“W— But my gifts are for you, not for myself—” Law sputtered.
“But if you also have something from the Earth to keep at night, then we share. And that will make me happy that we are sharing the Earth together.”
Law opened and closed his mouth. He sighed. “I will come up with something.”
When year 300 rolled around, Law had finally come to a solid conclusion. He had worked with the Earth, a sour and burly man with green hair, to create something new for the both of them.
As he explained this gift, Luffy’s eyes grew wilder and more enthused.
“So they sleep during the day and come awake at night?!” Luffy exclaimed.
“Yes, they are called ‘nocturnal’,” Law explained. “Bats, which are mammals that fly like birds. Owls, birds that hunt at night and coo at the moon. And other small crawlers, raccoons and mice. They will be more than enough to keep me company at night.”
Luffy shouted with joy. “I cannot wait to watch them sleep! It will be so boring! How exciting!”
He scampered around in a circle before leaping into Law’s chest. With a heavy augh, Law caught him. Luffy looked up with starry eyes.
“Are you… happy with this gift?” Law asked, unsure.
“Very. So very, very happy,” Luffy replied, petting the bridge of Law’s nose. “I love you, Torao.”
Law chokes up. He responds, “And I love you.”
Once Luffy was gone, Law began to watch the animals of the night. The owls would swoop upon their prey and hoot at the moon, as if saying hello to Law. Oddly enough, Law found himself smiling at them. Sometimes, the sounds of the creatures scratching along the Earth floor would even lull Law into a decent sleep.
Another hundred years passed and Law savored the hundred hours that came with them. On occasion, Law would let Luffy wrap himself around him like a koala as they sat, his back tucked nicely into Luffy’s chest, up against his beating heart. The years when that happened were the ones Law had spent missing Luffy the most. Sometimes the hour was spent simply napping together until the sun began to move and woke them, and sometimes it ended with their bodies tangled as they both panted, and sometimes it was spent playing a game in the clouds together as they laughed. Truly, Law never knew what to expect going in, but he would let Luffy do anything he wanted to as long as the Sun was his.
400 was more recent, and Law felt that he had outdone his gift for that year. That was one which he’d had to create on his own, through tedious trial and error and observation of the humans. He’d found over the centuries that he was fascinated by humans and how they functioned; they were so fragile and bled so easily, but were also so strong and healed so quickly. He also found interest in the few human locations that were awake at night, namely the hospitals that never seemed to sleep. He began to wonder if he too could help them.
And he also knew that Luffy adored the humans, in a way much more genuine than Law— who really only found them objectively, functionally interesting— and so he figured he would combine these findings for his 400th year gift.
“…and I thought, perhaps, you would like that I’ve found a new way to heal them,” Law continued, Luffy curled around his back. “My moonlight will do wonders for those who ask for it. But I fear they may think it’s superstitious. They tend to do that, I’ve noticed.”
“Torao, you’ve started caring for them so much more,” Luffy said in awe, and wiggled his way around until he could look Law in the eyes. “You made your moonlight heal them? For me?”
“Well, it’s not— entirely guaranteed, but I did make my moonlight helpful in that way, so that those who ask for it— I mean, they meditate— see, your Sun heals them physically, but my light will heal them mentally…” Law trailed off, “And I thought they needed that. They have beliefs, I’ve seen, in supernatural things like crystals and prayer to the moon. I’ve simply made my light work to give them whatever they ask for. They’re interesting creatures. I want to help them as you do. You… inspire me, in that way.”
Luffy only says I love it, I love you, between kisses on every inch of Law’s face and skin, and Law is sure his face has never been so flushed.
By the end of the hour, Luffy asks, “Do you often miss me?”
Law takes a rare moment in which Luffy’s hands are not on him, and starts to run his own fingers across Luffy’s face, feels the ridges of a scar on his cheekbone and smiles softly. “I will continue to pull the ocean tides. It is what I do when I miss you.”
“But the tides are always moving?”
Law kisses the scar. “And I miss you all the time.”
—
the eve before 500
The village’s bonfire has long since died down. Law watches them sleep for the last bits of the night. Come the next few hours, the eclipse will begin, and Law will see the lovely beaming face of the Sun again.
For 500, he waits with his lip still worried between his teeth. There was no guarantee that Luffy would love this as much as the previous milestone years. In fact, there was no guarantee Luffy would even be able to see it during the eclipse. But still, Law had worked hard to make it happen— again having to speak to another God, this time of the Stars, who was an intelligent woman with dark hair and harrowing blue eyes, who helped him figure out how to make the gift possible in the first place.
He turns his eyes toward the dying stars, and sees the sun begin to rise. He fixes his coat, feels the rumble of the Moon at his fingertips as he prepares. It’s almost time.
—
in the sleeping Village
The hundreds of sleeping humans begin to stir. Now that the sunrise is just peeking up over the skyline, their eyes blink open softly. The new calendar year begins today.
The young girl’s eyes flutter, then focus. Today is yet another eclipse, but the first she will remember. She trots over to the window, her mother still asleep, and watches the sunrise. It’s orange, as always, but somehow dimmer.
As she watches, she sees the moon stay still in the sky, even as the sun continues to rise. They will meet soon, she thinks.
Her mother’s voice startles her.
“Come back to bed, dear,” she calls. “The eclipse will begin soon. We get to sleep in the extra hour today until it’s over.”
The girl smiles. She watches, for just one more moment, as the final moments of the sunrise happen, and the sky turns gray.
For just one moment, the fraction of a second before the light dims, she swears she can see him: Nika, Luffy, in the sky, twinkling down at her and bounding into the moon’s arms.
—
somewhere among the sky
A crazed laugh breaks across the sky as it turns gray, and the sun dims. Unable to contain his excitement, Luffy continues to giggle and bounce in place, waiting. The eclipse has almost fully begun, and in a few seconds, Law will appear. He watches the humans sleep for the few precious moments he gets, and sees the young girl from before down there. She’ll look away in a moment, but he winks at her before he continues forward.
“Hello, my beloved,” Law calls from across the haze. Luffy’s gaze snaps forward, and the humans’ gazes are all gone. Law is covered in slight mist that clears in a few seconds, his coat and eyes as dark as ever.
“Torao!” He cheers, throwing himself at the Moon. Law catches him with ease, and buries his nose into Luffy’s hair. Wiggling happily, Luffy pulls away and smiles.
“I’ve missed you!” He giggles. “I love the humans, of course, but not as much as you!”
Law nods. “I know. And they are as fond of you as I.”
“They are not only fond of just me! There was a young girl I watched for a couple of days,” Luffy says, “She said you are kind.”
Law only hums, eyes downturned. Luffy wishes, with all his might, that Law might one day agree. His Moon is so bright, so kind, so loved.
“And— guess what! I have a gift for you this time,” Luffy whispers. Law’s eyes shoot up, shocked, and he looks at Luffy with his mouth gaping.
“What? You…” Law replies.
“Yep! You always give me things, but I thought it was time I gave you something, too,” Luffy says. “Look.”
Luffy holds his hands up, cupping them together. Once Law’s bewildered gaze is watching them, Luffy clasps them together. He rubs his palms together, and with a shake, opens them again.
Now, on his palm, sat a small golden disc.
“This is a coin,” Luffy supplies, looking up at Law with a grin. “I took it from the humans. Look at it.”
Luffy turns the coin in his hand, and holds it up for Law. Gingerly, Law’s trembling hand takes it from Luffy’s palm. He inspects the front, and sees the carving on the golden face. A sun, swirling and bright. Then he turns it over, and pauses when he sees the other side’s carving. A crescent moon, complete with a crater and star.
Luffy adds, “It’s us. On separate sides, but still the same coin. Still together.”
Law looks up. He grips the coin tightly. “Thank you, Luffy. It’s— wonderful. Thank you.”
“Oh! And another!” Luffy chirps. Law still looks dumbfounded, so the Sun continues. “Remember those nocturtle animals you came up with?”
“Nocturnal. Yes.”
“Yes, those,” Luffy barrels on. “I came up with one for you. I turned a daytime animal, a fox, into one for you. It lives in the icey areas. The arctic. It’ll be called an arctic fox! It’s cute, and it’s white, just like you, and it will talk to you when I can’t!”
“A new animal. You… did all of this. For me,” Law says. His grip on the coin is still tight.
“And I will get you a new, different coin every year. You’ll have hundreds before you know. I wanted to give you these both, because I need you to understand that I love you, so much, and— and I wish I could tell you more. That I could show you more,” Luffy replies.
Law’s eyes grow softer, almost watery.
“Luffy, he whispers. “Luffy.”
“You like them?”
With a choked noise, Law opens his arms and pulls Luffy into them. The coin falls then lands on the gray cloud, and Law will pick it up later, but there is nothing more important than having Luffy in his hands now.
Law kisses Luffy’s head. “I will cherish them. Oh, my love, I… I don’t know what I’ve done to make you love me.”
Luffy looks up. “You’ve loved me in return.”
—
the last minute of 500
Law had tried very hard to keep it together for the remainder of that hour. But he kept squeezing the coin, stroking Luffy’s soft hair. His eyes were damp for the rest of the time, but he did not let tears fall— this was a happy occasion.
He could feel the end of the hour drawing closer and they spoke, telling each other of the last year. As it began to wind down for the last few minutes, Law cleared his throat—
“Wait,” Law says, surprised with his own forgetfulness. “My gift! For you. We’re running out of time.”
“Oh!” Luffy cheers.
Law stands. They had been laying together in his coat, pillowed on the gray clouds. Law pulls Luffy up as well.
“For this, I had to pull a lot of strings,” Law says softly. “To be able to see them during the eclipse, at least.”
He knows Luffy will love this. That makes the effort worth it. Law closes his eyes, feels for the sky in his head. When he finds what he is looking for, his eyes open again. Luffy looks at his with wonder, with joy.
“Look up,” Law says, pointing up higher in the sky. “It’ll start in a just a moment.”
They wait only a second, and then it begins: bursts of light in the sky, falling across the expanse of clouds, in little streaks of color. Law watches proudly as Luffy gapes.
“What are those?!” Luffy gasps. The bursts continue, now shining in purples and oranges and whites.
“I named them shooting stars. Or a comet shower, if there is many like now,” Law answers.
“How beautiful,” Luffy calls, eyes trained on them and shining bright. “I have never seen anything like this.”
Law’s hand holds Luffy’s gently. “I made them just for you. I thought this might be the closes you can get to seeing what night truly looks like.”
Luffy doesn’t respond. He just continues smiling, teeth caught in his lip and he grins, swaying happily. Behind him, Law hugs him, and revels in the weight of Luffy’s body against his chest.
For the last minute, the shower continues, and Law holds his Sun the entire time.
At the end, when the lights have dimmed, Law can feel the pull again. They have only a few seconds more. Luffy turns quickly, surely able to feel the pull too, and pull Law down by the neck to kiss him.
They kiss for the last ten seconds, and Law whispers thank you, even if it was him that gave the gift. He simply has so much to be thankful for. When they pull apart, the sky begins to move. Time is up.
Luffy’s body is forced apart, the pull separating them again. Law watches with heavy eyes and the ghost of Luffy’s skin still sits on his lips as he watches the Sun depart. They do not say goodbye. They never do.
“I love you, Torao,” Luffy calls instead, waving his arm above his head, “For eternity.”
The Moon smiles back at him. “For eternity, my love.”
And then Luffy’s smiling face grows smaller and smaller. Law keeps his eyes trained on him for as long as he can, squinting against the dying light, until the last speck of his fluffy hair is invisible.
And then he’s gone.
With a deep sigh, Law keeps staring at the dark space once occupied by his beloved. Somehow his eyes are still welled up with a tear, a bit blurry, as he stares. For one more year, he will wait.
Law sits down, and watches the humans sleep. They are just starting to wake up for real now. He reaches up and wipes his eyes. A smile settles on his face, as he remembers the feeling of Luffy’s rough fingers on his cheek. One year is nothing in the face of eternity.
With deft hands, Law begins to push and pull at the ocean, and the tide rises to meet him.